


Balloons

by spiffyname



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:09:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27158422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spiffyname/pseuds/spiffyname
Summary: The balloons arrived on a Wednesday, which would have been odd but given the day she was already having it was more on par for the course.
Relationships: John Sheppard/Elizabeth Weir
Comments: 1
Kudos: 27





	Balloons

The balloons arrived on a Wednesday, which would have been odd but given the day she was already having it was more on par for the course.

Everywhere she went, it had felt like everyone was watching her. Or giving her sly looks. Possibly even knowing glances, which baffled her - what was she supposed to know?

She eyed the balloon arrangement warily as she made her way behind her desk, and sighed once she sat down. Turning her chair to face the flower-shaped bouquet of balloons that were anchored by the other side of her desk, Elizabeth tilted her head and thought back to the last couple of days, trying to remember anything out of the ordinary that might have happened that could have caused such attention. 

Nothing came to mind, and her mind wandered to who might have delivered the balloons to her office. They were quite skilled as a balloon artist, she had to admit. Unfortunately for her, the list of talented people in her city was long, and there were more than a few names that fell under the current category. 

She was idly daydreaming about how the mysterious gift-giver managed to deliver the balloons to her office, when Carson knocked and offered a cheery ‘hello’.

“Here are the reports I promised you, Elizabeth,” he told her, placing some files on her desk, even as his gaze slid to the side. “Is there, uh, something you’re celebrating?” he asked curiously.

She rolled her eyes, shaking her head. “I honestly don’t know. It seems like everyone else is in on it except for me.”

“Could it be an apology? Did someone upset you, and perhaps this is their way of making it up to you?”

She shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine -- possibly better, even. But it’s been going on for the past day at least, and I’ve wracked my brain and haven’t come up with any answers.”

“Well, I’m sure it will all work itself out eventually,” he told her. “Oh!” his expression brightened. “Did you hear? You know Doctor White’s work with the Flagisalli couple? The female is pregnant!”

“What, really?” Elizabeth perked up. “That’s wonderful news! Oh, I bet she’s so delighted!”

“She’s terribly excited! I can’t remember what she named them, but the male has turned quite protective of his mate, so she’s having a slightly harder time getting some of the readings she needs. Not that she’s complaining, mind you.”

“She named them after her favourite book characters, I believe,” Elizabeth told him, taking a moment to think back. “Elizabeth and Darcy.”

“Oh, right, of course. I think she said one of her assistant’s nearly had a heart attack when she heard Elizabeth was expecting a wee little baby!”

They shared a chuckle before it slowly dawned on Elizabeth why her day had been so odd. “Carson… when did Dr White find out about her pregnant whale?”

“Hmm? Oh, just the other day. Apparently it caused quite the ruckus in the lab!”

[Doctor Beckett? The samples are ready.]

Carson tapped his comm. “Thank you dear. I’ll be there in just a moment,” he replied, tapping his comm off and giving Elizabeth a rueful smile. “I suppose my break is over, but, uh, if you figure out who gave you the balloons, I expect to hear about it.”

Elizabeth smiled, but it was distracted and hopefully not too strained. “Of course. Thank you for the reports.”

It was his turn to roll his eyes. “Don’t stay too late with those - Doctor’s orders.”

She waved him away as she pulled the top folder from the pile and placed it in front of her.

She got through about a third of her stack when she decided she wanted to stretch her legs, so she got up and decided on going to the mess hall to grab a snack when John caught her at Command, looking a little weirded out.

“Oh, hey. You going somewhere?” he asked.

“Nowhere special. Did you need something?”

“Other than a place to hide out? Not really.”

“Hide out? Who did you manage to piss off this time?” 

“No one! Also, why is that your first assumption? You know what, that doesn’t matter. People have been acting weird all day. Shaking my hand, patting me on the back… it’s weird. I don’t know what I did, but apparently I’m a hero?”

Elizabeth had to laugh. Of course people would think… 

At John’s odd look, she shook her head. “Actually, if you’re interested, I was just on my way to Dr White’s lab. Did you hear about the whales she’s been studying? You know, the ones she named after the Pride and Prejudice characters? It seems as though congratulations are in order, because Elizabeth is expecting.”

John stared at her for a few long moments, letting the information sink in. Then he sighed, rubbing a hand over his face, and nodded. “I mean, no, I hadn’t heard that, but uh...“ his eyes darted to the side quickly as he licked his lips, “yeah, I’ll join you. I mean, it’s our first whale baby, right? That’s pretty special.” 

Elizabeth smiled, then turned slightly to address Chuck, whose console they had been the closest to during their conversation. “I’ll be about fifteen to twenty minutes if anyone is looking for me, okay?”

He nodded with a ‘yes ma’am’, and Elizabeth shared an indulgent smile with John as they left the command centre, arguing about what Dr White should name the baby flagisallus all the way to the lab.


End file.
